Big Changes on the Way for the Pokemon Competitive Scene

Supporting both the trading card game and the competitive side of the massively successful video games, Play! Pokemon is the competitive structure set up by The Pokemon Company. Starting next year however, the company is changing up how it runs tournaments and championships overall.

In 2017, The Pokemon Company plans to make multiple changes to the current tournament schedule, all in the hopes of making the competitive scene as accessible as possible. First off, Play! Pokemon is introducing a Championship series event in each of the game’s four main regions, North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. Each promises particularly high Championship Point payouts and a total prize pool of $250,000 per event.

These new Championship series will work as another large stepping stone towards the World Championships. Below them, there will also be Regional Championships (not to be confused with the four larger tournaments listed above), League Cup events, Premier Challenges, and Midseason Showdowns.

While Regional Championships have previously crowded around particular weekends, the company is promising they will be more evenly spread out throughout the season, complete with “more than $50,000 in prize money, scholarships, and Travel Certificates based on attendance.” League Cup events are replacing City Championships and will be held at participating hobby stores.

Every event, including the smaller ones, will reward Championship Points necessary for qualifying into the World Championships. In conjunction with the official events, The Pokemon Company will now also approve independent National Championships on a case-by-case basis. Play! Pokemon promises more information and specifics as we move forward into the 2017 season.

The next main entries in the beloved franchise, Pokemon Sun and Moon, release Nov. 18.